Monday, September 03, 2012

Yankee Collapse Nearly Complete

O's win, Yanks lose to Rays! O's 1 back, Rays 2.5 back!

Do you realize that I wait for Robinson Cano-nchalant to fuck up plays like children waiting for the ice cream truck? You can never give up on a ball hit by or to Cano--he just might decide to not run it out or take his sweet time on a throw.

Today, it happened. At a vital moment. Top 8th, 2 outs, tie game. Yanks clinging to life in the division race. Cano lines one to the third baseman. It bounces off the guy and rolls away. My immediate thought was "you've got time, Cano might not have run!" Guy goes and gets the ball a few feet away, throws to first wildly, but the first baseman still has time to make the tag on Cano on a great play. Inning over. I awaited the replay with bated-ass breath.

They came back from break, and we see the shot of Cano swinging, then watching the ball...pausing....I mean literally stopping in his tracks waiting to see what happens...and then "oh shit I have to run!!!" Between the ball rolling away and the bad throw, even a Molina would have been safe, provided he just put his head down and run in this very, very important situation. Michael Kay missed a chance to rip the shit out of Cano, just saying how he thought it was gonna be caught and that's why he stopped. As if that's okay! You'd think Singleton or drunk uncle Lou Piniella would have been appalled but no.

And it doesn't end there! Bottom of the same inning, with a man on second, two outs, still tied, and there's a grounder to Cano's left. It's really slow. But way to his left. He gets near it, but only gives it a wave as it rolls through to the outfield. Go-ahead run scores. Rays win 4-3 as Yanks leave tying run at 3rd in 9th. Had Cano dove, he would have stopped the ball, and prevented the run. He had no play at first, but the game stays tied if he dives. (He could have learned this move from Jeter, who earlier in the game refused to dive on a ball right under his glove--the announcers said nothing.)

So the world famous Ca-nonchalance costs them a game at the worst possible time. I hope that Kay's ignoring of the gaffe doesn't mean that the media ignores it too.